South SFV Today

Professor William P. Barnett welcomed attendees to the inaugural Stanford Sustainability Summit, which took place on July 8 and 9. The summit brought together sustainability advocates, business owners, government officials, and community leaders from across the globe to share ideas and address growing sustainability challenges.

Among the attendees were Maria Inez Jaramillo and Miryam Yefi Jaramillo, members of the indigenous Mapuche people of Chile. They are working to develop business practices that improve biodiversity outcomes and preserve fish habitats for increased food security for their community. Their story was one of many presented at the summit.

Forty-eight attendees from 22 countries participated in the event. According to co-organizer and moderator William P. Barnett, these individuals brought with them solutions, ideas, needs, and a desire to collaborate.

Barnett is chair of the Department of Environmental Social Sciences at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and holds multiple positions within Stanford University. He emphasized the importance of taking immediate action towards sustainability: “We are in the middle of a sustainability revolution,” Barnett said. “It’s happening right now, and the revolutionaries...are not waiting.”

The summit's attendees included representatives from non-profits, NGOs, start-ups, established companies, and public sector organizations. Barnett noted that invitations were based on innovation rather than organizational size or titles: “We invited them on the basis of how innovative they are.”

The event aimed to highlight changemakers for exposure to Stanford students, faculty, and alumni while generating new innovations through ongoing relationships with participating organizations.

One exercise at the summit was titled "Wouldn’t it be great if…," where participants developed ideas to solve global sustainability challenges without considering perceived barriers. Ideas included granting voting rights to people aged 16-25 globally and developing methodologies for presenting climate impact costs to governments and industry.

Barnett stressed that combining unlikely partners often leads to unexpected innovations: “In that spirit, we grouped organizations and changemakers by design.” The goal was also for Stanford faculty and students to build relationships with these innovators.

Attendees learned about various initiatives like Netafim’s drip irrigation systems from Israel that allow more efficient food production with less water usage while reducing methane emissions.

Looking ahead, Barnett plans another gathering in 2025 along with an online platform for ongoing collaboration among participants. Additionally, there will be opportunities for Stanford students to engage directly through internships or study abroad programs focused on sustainability projects.